Business Directory

Profile: Angelo Troquato of Troquato Vineyards

Throughout his childhood in Pennsylvania, Los Gatos resident Angelo Troquato grew up with grapes and wine as a part of daily life. "I can remember as a little, little kid my grandfather making wine. And everybody drank wine in Italian families," Troquato says. Troquato's grandfather used to order grapes from California for his winemaking in Italy.

When Troquato came to California in the mid-1950s, one of his top priorities was finding land so he could grow grapes and eventually make wine of his own. He found that land in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Saratoga, where he currently grows seven acres' worth of wine grapes.

From 1966 through 1986, he sold his grapes to winemakers but did not yet dip into the wine business. Then, when his vines hung heavy because not enough customers were buying grapes, Troquato decided the time was ripe to become a vintner himself.

"Years ago, grapes were very cheap because people here didn't drink [wines] that much. We had a surplus. I finally decided maybe we should start making our own wines so they would hold better," he says. By "hold," Troquato means that grapes made into wine remain in a consumable form and have a value for many years. If left on the vine, they eventually dry up or rot, thus losing all their potential.

Troquato Vineyards' current wine list consists of chardonnay, red zinfandel, merlot and cabernet. The merlot and one of the cabernets are estate-bottled; the rest are bottled elsewhere. Troquato plans to have about four kinds for sale in the fiesta's wine- and beer-tasting area. He sells his wines at art and wine festivals throughout much of the South Bay; the fruits of his efforts also line shelves in some local supermarkets.

As for what the next "fad" wine will be after the current merlot, Troquato predicts pinot noir. "People grab it," he says of whatever the current favorite may be. "They run with it, and then they go for something new. Pinot noir has been quiet lately."

-- Shari Kaplan